Chris Sharma

Quick Info ˅

Nationality:	US
Height:	183 cm
Weight:	75 kg
Date of birth:	23 April 1981
Hardest Boulder (Worked):	8C
Hardest Boulder (Flash):	8A+
Hardest Sport (Worked):	9b+
Hardest Sport (Onsight):	8c
Notable Partnerships
Tommy Caldwell
Daila Ojeda
Social Media

Chris Sharma started climbing in the 1990s aged 12 before winning the US national championships 2 years later. He went on to reinvigorate hard sport climbing in the US, quickly repeating many of the hardest lines before establishing his own hard routes such as Necessary Evil in 1997, the first 8c+/14c in the USA.

Through the rest of his career he took sport climbing in to the modern era by cementing the 9a+ and 9b grades with a string of cutting edge ascents throughout Europe and the America.

More recently Chris has applied his skills to deep water soloing establishing routes such as Es Pontas and Alasha, some of the hardest DWS lines in the world.

References

[1] Interview with Jack Geldard for UKClimbing.com, 29th August 2012 https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/chris_sharma_talks_9b+-4894

[2] Rampage by Josh Lowell and Brett Lowell, 1999 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqe_w2JTlKM

[3] Best of the West, 2005 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6VZzVPnlVA

[4] Interview with Alex Honnold on Climbing Gold, 2nd April 2021 https://www.climbinggold.com/episodes/chapter-03

Quick Info

Nationality:	US
Height:	183 cm
Weight:	75 kg
Date of birth:	23 April 1981
Hardest Boulder (Worked):	8C
Hardest Boulder (Flash):	8A+
Hardest Sport (Worked):	9b+
Hardest Sport (Onsight):	8c
Notable Partnerships
Tommy Caldwell
Daila Ojeda
Social Media

Chris Sharma started climbing in the 1990s aged 12 before winning the US national championships 2 years later. He went on to reinvigorate hard sport climbing in the US, quickly repeating many of the hardest lines before establishing his own hard routes such as Necessary Evil in 1997, the first 8c+/14c in the USA.

Through the rest of his career he took sport climbing in to the modern era by cementing the 9a+ and 9b grades with a string of cutting edge ascents throughout Europe and the America.

More recently Chris has applied his skills to deep water soloing establishing routes such as Es Pontas and Alasha, some of the hardest DWS lines in the world.

References

[1] Interview with Jack Geldard for UKClimbing.com, 29th August 2012 https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/chris_sharma_talks_9b+-4894

[2] Rampage by Josh Lowell and Brett Lowell, 1999 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqe_w2JTlKM

[3] Best of the West, 2005 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6VZzVPnlVA

[4] Interview with Alex Honnold on Climbing Gold, 2nd April 2021 https://www.climbinggold.com/episodes/chapter-03

Podcasts

Climbing Gold, April 2021

Pics + Vids

Added at 17:01 on 13 January 2021

Added at 17:03 on 05 March 2021

Biographie (9a+, FA)

Added at 18:12 on 18 December 2020

Fight or Flight (9b, FA)

Added at 18:12 on 18 December 2020

La Dura Dura (9b+)

Added at 18:12 on 18 December 2020

Witness the Fitness (8C, FA)

Added at 18:12 on 18 December 2020

First Round, First Minute (9b, FA)

Added at 18:12 on 18 December 2020

El Bon Combat (9b, FA)

Added at 22:12 on 21 December 2020

La Rambla Extension (9a+)

Added at 22:02 on 15 February 2021

Le Blond (9c)

Added at 15:06 on 29 June 2021

Biographie (9a+, FA)

View this post on Instagram

Added at 13:07 on 21 July 2021

Dreamcatcher (9a, FA)

Added at 08:09 on 05 September 2021

La Novena Enmienda (9a+)

Added at 08:07 on 03 July 2021

Gancho Perfecto (9a+, FA)

Added at 08:07 on 03 July 2021

Es Pontas (9a+, FA)

Added at 08:04 on 29 April 2021

Stoking the Fire (9b, FA)

View this post on Instagram

Added at 21:01 on 04 January 2022

Golpe de Estado (9b, FA)

View this post on Instagram

Added at 09:01 on 06 January 2022

Es Pontas (9a+, FA)

View this post on Instagram

Added at 09:01 on 06 January 2022

Super Tweak (8c)

Added at 08:05 on 29 May 2021

© Jim Thornburg

Biographie (9a+, FA)

View this post on Instagram

Added at 06:07 on 19 July 2021

V for Vendetta (8c)

View this post on Instagram

Added at 15:04 on 05 April 2022

Ascents

41 recorded ascents.

This timeline is missing some ascents where the date of the ascent is unknown. Use the other tabs to view these ascents.

Year	Climb	Grade	FA	Ascent Date
1996	Super Tweak	8c (Lead)		01 Jul 1996 (approx)
1996	Super Tweak	https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/sport-why-kid-grinning/
1997	Necessary Evil	8c+ (Lead)	✓	01 Jan 1997 (approx)
	Necessary Evil	Age 15. Chris had been climbing for a little over 3 years at the time of making this ascent, at the time the hardest route in the US.
	Just Do It	8c+ (Lead)		01 Apr 1997 (approx)
	Just Do It	First American ascent. 3 days' work, famously taking jumper off mid-route. https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/alan-watts-climbing-interview.html
1998	To Bolt or Not to Be	8b+ (Lead)		15 Apr 1998 (approx)
1999
2000
2001	The Mandala	8A+ (Boulder)	✓	01 Jan 2001 (approx)
	Biographie	9a+ (Lead)	✓	18 Jul 2001
	Biographie	A breakthrough in Chris' climbing and one of the hardest routes in the world at the time. References [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eTxQLfIUNY [2] https://www.instagram.com/p/CRe7spOLVqj/ [3] Coincidentally Charlotte Durif was walking underneath at the time with her brother and Dad who took some photos of the first ascent. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRlzGrNHGHn/ [4] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/chris-sharma-climbs-biographie-at-ceuse.html
2002
2003	Massive Attack	8A+ (Boulder Flash)		01 Jul 2003
2004	Practice of the Wild	8C (Boulder)	✓	01 Aug 2004 (approx)
2005	Witness the Fitness	8C (Boulder)	✓	01 Mar 2005 (approx)
	Witness the Fitness	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PP1AK1Aqis https://www.instagram.com/tv/CgANjR9DSR3/
	Dreamcatcher	9a (Lead)	✓	01 Sep 2005 (approx)
	Dreamcatcher	https://youtu.be/UlcQ3mxlNfs
2006	La Rambla Extension	9a+ (Lead)		01 Jan 2006 (approx)
	La Rambla Extension	Third ascent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9agEFToJT-4
	Ring of Fire	8b+ (Deep Water Solo Ground up)		01 Jan 2006 (approx)
	Ring of Fire	Second ascent.
2007	La Novena Enmienda	9a+ (Lead)		01 Jan 2007 (approx)
	La Novena Enmienda	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLTb8Qu-DXY
	Three Degrees of Separation	9a (Lead)	✓	15 Jul 2007
	Three Degrees of Separation	https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/chris-sharma-adds-new-ceuse-testspiece.html
	Es Pontas	9a+ (Deep Water Solo)	✓	26 Sep 2007
	Es Pontas	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM8gO4IDN_s https://www.instagram.com/p/COAgRrAK5ct/
2008	Jumbo Love	9b (Lead)	✓	11 Sep 2008
	Jumbo Love	https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2008/09/sharmas_jumbo_love_9b_515b-45317
	Golpe de Estado	9b (Lead)	✓	17 Dec 2008
	Golpe de Estado	https://www.instagram.com/p/CYWqnv_NVck/
2009	Raindogs	8a (Lead Onsight)		01 Jan 2009 (approx)
	Demencia Senil	9a+ (Lead)	✓	01 Feb 2009 (approx)
	Pachamama	9a+ (Lead)	✓	29 May 2009
	Neanderthal	9b (Lead)	✓	18 Dec 2009
	Neanderthal	References [1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/chris_sharma_talks_9b+-4894
2010	Samfaina	9a (Lead)	✓	01 Jan 2010 (approx)
	Era Vella	9a (Lead)	✓	01 Jan 2010 (approx)
	First Ley	9a+ (Lead)	✓	28 Feb 2010
	First Ley	https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2010/02/sharma_climbs_first_ley_9a+-54530
2011	First Round, First Minute	9b (Lead)	✓	19 Apr 2011
	First Round, First Minute	Chris suggested hard 9b. [1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/chris_sharma_talks_9b+-4894 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCqe96jtExU
	Fight or Flight	9b (Lead)	✓	05 May 2011
	Fight or Flight	On the same day Chris climbed Chaxi as well as making a separate, very good attempt on Chaxiraxi! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKgZL2Etuc4 https://climbingnarc.com/2011/05/two-5-15s-in-a-day-at-oliana-for-chris-sharma/
	Chaxi	9a+ (Lead)		05 May 2011
	Chaxi	The same day as Chris made the first ascent of Fight or Flight! https://climbingnarc.com/2011/05/two-5-15s-in-a-day-at-oliana-for-chris-sharma/
2012	Ratstaman Vibrations	9b (Lead Did not finish)		01 Jan 2012 (approx)
2012	Ratstaman Vibrations	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBM5bu_hxM8
2013	Stoking the Fire	9b (Lead)	✓	06 Feb 2013
	Stoking the Fire	Today in Santa Linya was one of those illusive moments. I sent a project that I’ve been trying the last few years. I think I’m going to call it Stoking The Fire and I think it’s pretty solid 9b. So many hard complex sequences with no rests! https://www.instagram.com/p/VZtjIfSd2Q/
	La Dura Dura	9b+ (Lead)		23 Mar 2013
	La Dura Dura	The first confirmed 9b+. Initially I was turned off by the small crimpers on the lower section, I sort of shied away from them. But last year Adam came along, we started to try it together and I realised that I could actually use these holds. It may sound strange, but this route got me back into bouldering, that first section has a Font 8B+ section and it was great fun and also really different to try something with tiny crimps, instead of holds on the long stamina routes I often do. [2] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1P97VVt6_k [2] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/chris-sharma-the-la-dura-dura-interview.html
2014
2015	El Bon Combat	9b (Lead)	✓	07 Mar 2015
2015	El Bon Combat	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk4YrOtVTLg https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/chris-sharma-interview-after-new-9b-climb-at-cova-de-ocell-in-spain.html
2016	Le Blond	9c (Lead Did not finish)		01 Jan 2016 (approx)
	Le Blond	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhx0DpWeO8k
	Catalan Witness the Fitness	8B+ (Boulder)	✓	02 Jan 2016
	Alasha	9a (Deep Water Solo)	✓	01 Sep 2016 (approx)
	Joe Mama	9a+ (Lead)		12 Oct 2016 (approx)
	Joe Mama	https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2016/10/chris_sharma_does_joe_mama_9a+-70736
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022	V for Vendetta	8c (Lead Onsight)		01 Apr 2022
2022	V for Vendetta	https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb-L2nqlCOM/

Climb	Grade	FA	Ascent Date	Suggested Grade
Le Blond	9c (Lead Did not finish)		01 Jan 2016 (approx)
Le Blond	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhx0DpWeO8k
La Dura Dura	9b+ (Lead)		23 Mar 2013
La Dura Dura	The first confirmed 9b+. Initially I was turned off by the small crimpers on the lower section, I sort of shied away from them. But last year Adam came along, we started to try it together and I realised that I could actually use these holds. It may sound strange, but this route got me back into bouldering, that first section has a Font 8B+ section and it was great fun and also really different to try something with tiny crimps, instead of holds on the long stamina routes I often do. [2] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1P97VVt6_k [2] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/chris-sharma-the-la-dura-dura-interview.html
Jumbo Love	9b (Lead)	✓	11 Sep 2008
Jumbo Love	https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2008/09/sharmas_jumbo_love_9b_515b-45317
Golpe de Estado	9b (Lead)	✓	17 Dec 2008
Golpe de Estado	https://www.instagram.com/p/CYWqnv_NVck/
Neanderthal	9b (Lead)	✓	18 Dec 2009	9b
Neanderthal	References [1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/chris_sharma_talks_9b+-4894
First Round, First Minute	9b (Lead)	✓	19 Apr 2011	9b
First Round, First Minute	Chris suggested hard 9b. [1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/chris_sharma_talks_9b+-4894 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCqe96jtExU
Fight or Flight	9b (Lead)	✓	05 May 2011
Fight or Flight	On the same day Chris climbed Chaxi as well as making a separate, very good attempt on Chaxiraxi! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKgZL2Etuc4 https://climbingnarc.com/2011/05/two-5-15s-in-a-day-at-oliana-for-chris-sharma/
Stoking the Fire	9b (Lead)	✓	06 Feb 2013
Stoking the Fire	Today in Santa Linya was one of those illusive moments. I sent a project that I’ve been trying the last few years. I think I’m going to call it Stoking The Fire and I think it’s pretty solid 9b. So many hard complex sequences with no rests! https://www.instagram.com/p/VZtjIfSd2Q/
El Bon Combat	9b (Lead)	✓	07 Mar 2015	9b/9b+
El Bon Combat	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk4YrOtVTLg https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/chris-sharma-interview-after-new-9b-climb-at-cova-de-ocell-in-spain.html
Ratstaman Vibrations	9b (Lead Did not finish)		01 Jan 2012 (approx)
Ratstaman Vibrations	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBM5bu_hxM8
Biographie	9a+ (Lead)	✓	18 Jul 2001
Biographie	A breakthrough in Chris' climbing and one of the hardest routes in the world at the time. References [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eTxQLfIUNY [2] https://www.instagram.com/p/CRe7spOLVqj/ [3] Coincidentally Charlotte Durif was walking underneath at the time with her brother and Dad who took some photos of the first ascent. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRlzGrNHGHn/ [4] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/chris-sharma-climbs-biographie-at-ceuse.html
Demencia Senil	9a+ (Lead)	✓	01 Feb 2009 (approx)
Pachamama	9a+ (Lead)	✓	29 May 2009
First Ley	9a+ (Lead)	✓	28 Feb 2010
First Ley	https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2010/02/sharma_climbs_first_ley_9a+-54530
Gancho Perfecto	9a+ (Lead)	✓
Gancho Perfecto	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-nBGhLMGPM
Papichulo	9a+ (Lead)	✓
La Rambla Extension	9a+ (Lead)		01 Jan 2006 (approx)
La Rambla Extension	Third ascent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9agEFToJT-4
La Novena Enmienda	9a+ (Lead)		01 Jan 2007 (approx)
La Novena Enmienda	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLTb8Qu-DXY
Chaxi	9a+ (Lead)		05 May 2011
Chaxi	The same day as Chris made the first ascent of Fight or Flight! https://climbingnarc.com/2011/05/two-5-15s-in-a-day-at-oliana-for-chris-sharma/
Joe Mama	9a+ (Lead)		12 Oct 2016 (approx)
Joe Mama	https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2016/10/chris_sharma_does_joe_mama_9a+-70736
Mutation	9a+ (Lead Did not finish)
Mutation	I will never climb this route.
Dreamcatcher	9a (Lead)	✓	01 Sep 2005 (approx)
Dreamcatcher	https://youtu.be/UlcQ3mxlNfs
Three Degrees of Separation	9a (Lead)	✓	15 Jul 2007	9a
Three Degrees of Separation	https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/chris-sharma-adds-new-ceuse-testspiece.html
Samfaina	9a (Lead)	✓	01 Jan 2010 (approx)
Era Vella	9a (Lead)	✓	01 Jan 2010 (approx)
Necessary Evil	8c+ (Lead)	✓	01 Jan 1997 (approx)
Necessary Evil	Age 15. Chris had been climbing for a little over 3 years at the time of making this ascent, at the time the hardest route in the US.
Just Do It	8c+ (Lead)		01 Apr 1997 (approx)
Just Do It	First American ascent. 3 days' work, famously taking jumper off mid-route. https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/alan-watts-climbing-interview.html
Super Tweak	8c (Lead)		01 Jul 1996 (approx)
Super Tweak	https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/sport-why-kid-grinning/
V for Vendetta	8c (Lead Onsight)		01 Apr 2022
V for Vendetta	https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb-L2nqlCOM/
To Bolt or Not to Be	8b+ (Lead)		15 Apr 1998 (approx)
Raindogs	8a (Lead Onsight)		01 Jan 2009 (approx)

Climb	Grade	FA	Ascent Date	Suggested Grade
Practice of the Wild	8C (Boulder)	✓	01 Aug 2004 (approx)
Witness the Fitness	8C (Boulder)	✓	01 Mar 2005 (approx)
Witness the Fitness	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PP1AK1Aqis https://www.instagram.com/tv/CgANjR9DSR3/
Catalan Witness the Fitness	8B+ (Boulder)	✓	02 Jan 2016
Off the Wagon	8B+ (Boulder Did not finish)
Off the Wagon	Chris came very close to making the first ascent, dropping the campus move to the slot.
The Buttermilker	8B (Boulder)	✓
The Mandala	8A+ (Boulder)	✓	01 Jan 2001 (approx)
Massive Attack	8A+ (Boulder Flash)		01 Jul 2003

Climb	Grade	FA	Ascent Date	Suggested Grade

Climb	Grade	FA	Ascent Date	Suggested Grade
Es Pontas	9a+ (Deep Water Solo)	✓	26 Sep 2007
Es Pontas	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM8gO4IDN_s https://www.instagram.com/p/COAgRrAK5ct/
Alasha	9a (Deep Water Solo)	✓	01 Sep 2016 (approx)
Ring of Fire	8b+ (Deep Water Solo Ground up)		01 Jan 2006 (approx)
Ring of Fire	Second ascent.